Anthony Ray "D'Anton" Lynn II (born October 24, 1989) is an American

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach who is the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

(NCAA). He was previously the defensive coordinator for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

. Lynn played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

as a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

for the

Penn State Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Penn State Lady Lions basketball, Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot ...

, and was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

in 2012. He became an assistant coach with the Jets,

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

and

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

before becoming the secondary coach for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

. Lynn then served as the

defensive backs coach In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

for the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

in 2021 before being elevated in 2022 to their safeties coach. He became the UCLA defensive coordinator in 2023, leaving for USC after the regular season.

Playing career

High school

Lynn attended Celina High School in

Celina, Texas Celina ( ) is a city in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. Celina is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The population was 16,739 at the 2020 census, and according to 2024 census estimates, the city is estimated to ...

. Lynn also played defensive back, linebacker, quarterback, running back and wide receiver at Celina High School. He was selected for the Associated Press Class 3A first-team all-state.

College

Lynn played four seasons as a

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

. During his tenure with the

Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Penn State Lady Lions basketball, Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot ...

, he recorded 162 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 4 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery. He received honorable mention three times for the All-Big Ten team. In his freshman year, on October 11, 2008, he just had 2 tackles against

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

won 48-7. As a sophomore, he won the starting cornerback position. On October 31, 2009, he recorded 8 tackles against Northwestern as

won 34-13. In his junior year, Lynn started every single game at cornerback. He finished the season with 75 tackles, 3 interceptions and 7 passes defensed. On September 11, 2010, he recorded 5 tackles in a loss to No. 1 ranked

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

by the score of 24-3. The next game on September 18, 2010, he had 2 tackles and an interception against

Kent State Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Ashtabula, Burton, East Liverpool, Jackson Township, New Philadelphia, ...

and

won 24-0. On October 23, 2010, he record 10 tackles, one interception and 2 passes defended against

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

and Penn State won 33-21.

National Football League

2012 NFL Combine

New York Jets

On April 29, 2012, Lynn signed with

as an undrafted free agent and reuniting him with his father Anthony Lynn who was at the time the Jets running backs coach. On August 31, 2012, he was released.

Canadian Football League

Hamilton Tiger Cats

On May 24, 2013, Lynn signed with the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

. On June 2, 2013, Lynn was released.

Coaching career

New York Jets

In 2014, Lynn served as a seasonal intern for the

, after serving in the team's scouting department in 2013.

Buffalo Bills

On January 26, 2015, Lynn was hired by the

as a defensive assistant.

Los Angeles Chargers

On February 2, 2017, Lynn was hired by the

as a defensive assistant.

Houston Texans

On February 7, 2018, Lynn was hired by the

as their assistant defensive backs coach under head coach Bill O’Brien. On January 29, 2020, Lynn was promoted to the team's secondary coach.

Baltimore Ravens

On January 24, 2021, Lynn was hired by the

as their defensive backs coach under defensive coordinator Don Martindale and head coach

John Harbaugh John William Harbaugh ( ; born September 23, 1962) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Previously, he coached the defensive backs for the Philadelphia ...

. On January 20, 2022, Lynn was selected as

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

of the East squad in the 2022

East-West Shrine Bowl East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

held in Las Vegas.

UCLA Bruins

On February 27, 2023, Lynn was hired by

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

to become their defensive coordinator, replacing Bill McGovern. Lynn's two-year contract at $1.02 million per year was the richest in the program's history for an assistant at his position. He inherited a defense that finished the past five seasons Nos. 86, 70, 69, 113 and 102 in the nation in total defense. Under Lynn in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, the Bruins defense improved to No. 11 in the regular season, allowing just 299 yards per game. It was fewest yards allowed in the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

, and they also surrendered the second-fewest points. On November 18 against their crosstown rivals,

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

, the Bruins won 38–20, with the defense holding the Trojans to their lowest scoring output of the season along with three yards rushing, USC's worst ground performance since 2018.

USC Trojans

On December 1, 2023, USC hired Lynn as their defensive coordinator after having fired their previous coordinator, Alex Grinch, midseason on November 5. Lynn left UCLA before they were invited to the

LA Bowl The LA Bowl is an annual NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football bowl game played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, first played in December 2021. The bowl has tie-ins with the Mountain West Conference, Mountain ...

Personal life

Lynn is the son of former

head coach, and current

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

run game coordinator/running backs coach, Anthony Lynn.

References

External links

Penn State bio

New York Jets bio

Hamilton Tiger-Cats bio

Buffalo Bills bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynn, D'Anton 1989 births Living people Players of American football from Plano, Texas American football cornerbacks Penn State Nittany Lions football players New York Jets players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Baltimore Ravens coaches Buffalo Bills coaches Houston Texans coaches Los Angeles Chargers coaches New York Jets coaches Players of Canadian football from Texas Coaches of American football from Texas